Serial Novel: Falling in Public, Ch. 20
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Ch.1|Ch. 2|Ch. 3|Ch. 4|Ch. 5|Ch. 6|Ch. 7|Ch. 8|Ch. 9|Ch. 10|Ch. 11|Ch. 12|Ch.13|Ch. 14|Ch. 15|
Ch. 16| Ch. 17|Ch. 18| Ch. 19
Falling in Public

Chapter 20
Eddie woke up to someone pounding on the inside his head. Or was that the door? He pushed himself up off the floor, groaning at pain and decided it was both. Disoriented, he stumbled to open the door and leaned against the jamb as he tried to focus his vision. A bulb went off in his face, making the distortion worse and he held a hand up to shade his eyes.
"What do you want?" he asked, the words slurring from his thick-feeling tongue. There was something nagging at him, something he was supposed to be doing. Blinking several times, he squinted at the badge on the woman's chest. Big black P-R-E-S-S letters spelled out just how much trouble he was in for opening the damn door, and he stifled the urge to slam it in her face.
"Eddie Pierce - sources told us we would find you here. Is Holly Saunders in there with you? Is that why no one's been able to find her since the show this afternoon?" She raised her eyebrows and held a recording device of some sort in front of his face.
Holly. Just her name was enough to bring everything rushing back into focus. Shaking his head, he forced his shoulders back and fixed his eyes on a spot over the woman's shoulder. Unfortunately, that happened to be where the cameraman was, and another bright flash went off in his face.
"She's not here," he said, careful to speak slowly and enunciate as normally as he could. "I'm not sure how you got in, since I'm pretty sure press isn't allowed back here, but I'm calling security, so you might want to leave." One step back, and he closed and locked the door, somehow restraining himself from slamming the heavy metal. Turning to lean against it, he slowly surveyed the room even though he instinctively knew that Holly must be gone, or she would have been beside him when she woke up. Maybe she went to get help. He grasped at the thought as he reached for the phone, hoping against hope that security would know where she was. The alternative was too painful to think about.
He pressed zero and asked for security, waiting for what seemed like hours before a man came on the line.
"This is Eddie Pierce, in Holly Saunders' dressing room. Did she--"
"How did you get in Mr. Pierce? We have explicit orders that you're not allowed back there." the man on the other end asked.
Eddie frowned, rubbing his forehead. "It doesn't matter. I'm here, and Holly's gone, and I was hoping you know where she is. There was this flower delivery guy--"
"Sir, stay there. We're on our way."
The line went dead, and Eddie hung up the phone with a sigh. He walked to the couch and sat down to let his head clear, but only for a moment. He had to find Holly. If she wasn't with security..."
He went to the door and turned the knob, only to remember the press contingent outside. Cursing under his breath, he looked through the peephole, but the reporter was still there, her back to him as she spoke to the camera. He'd have to wait for security to clear them out or he'd be stuck here for hours.
Knowing there wasn't any way to get out of this himself, he went back to the couch and took out his cell. Finding the number, he hesitated a minute, then pressed send.
"Vince, we have a problem. Or several." Enjoy this installment? Try Desert Heat, available now at:
Brazen Snake Books|
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble
| Smashwords | Diesel | All Romance
**Please
note - comments take a few moments to appear. Refresh the page to view
new comments. If this is your first time posting, your comment will be
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Ch.1|Ch. 2|Ch. 3|Ch. 4|Ch. 5|Ch. 6|Ch. 7|Ch. 8|Ch. 9|Ch. 10|Ch. 11|Ch. 12|Ch.13|Ch. 14|Ch. 15|
Ch. 16| Ch. 17|Ch. 18| Ch. 19
Falling in Public

Chapter 20
Eddie woke up to someone pounding on the inside his head. Or was that the door? He pushed himself up off the floor, groaning at pain and decided it was both. Disoriented, he stumbled to open the door and leaned against the jamb as he tried to focus his vision. A bulb went off in his face, making the distortion worse and he held a hand up to shade his eyes.
"What do you want?" he asked, the words slurring from his thick-feeling tongue. There was something nagging at him, something he was supposed to be doing. Blinking several times, he squinted at the badge on the woman's chest. Big black P-R-E-S-S letters spelled out just how much trouble he was in for opening the damn door, and he stifled the urge to slam it in her face.
"Eddie Pierce - sources told us we would find you here. Is Holly Saunders in there with you? Is that why no one's been able to find her since the show this afternoon?" She raised her eyebrows and held a recording device of some sort in front of his face.
Holly. Just her name was enough to bring everything rushing back into focus. Shaking his head, he forced his shoulders back and fixed his eyes on a spot over the woman's shoulder. Unfortunately, that happened to be where the cameraman was, and another bright flash went off in his face.
"She's not here," he said, careful to speak slowly and enunciate as normally as he could. "I'm not sure how you got in, since I'm pretty sure press isn't allowed back here, but I'm calling security, so you might want to leave." One step back, and he closed and locked the door, somehow restraining himself from slamming the heavy metal. Turning to lean against it, he slowly surveyed the room even though he instinctively knew that Holly must be gone, or she would have been beside him when she woke up. Maybe she went to get help. He grasped at the thought as he reached for the phone, hoping against hope that security would know where she was. The alternative was too painful to think about.
He pressed zero and asked for security, waiting for what seemed like hours before a man came on the line.
"This is Eddie Pierce, in Holly Saunders' dressing room. Did she--"
"How did you get in Mr. Pierce? We have explicit orders that you're not allowed back there." the man on the other end asked.
Eddie frowned, rubbing his forehead. "It doesn't matter. I'm here, and Holly's gone, and I was hoping you know where she is. There was this flower delivery guy--"
"Sir, stay there. We're on our way."
The line went dead, and Eddie hung up the phone with a sigh. He walked to the couch and sat down to let his head clear, but only for a moment. He had to find Holly. If she wasn't with security..."
He went to the door and turned the knob, only to remember the press contingent outside. Cursing under his breath, he looked through the peephole, but the reporter was still there, her back to him as she spoke to the camera. He'd have to wait for security to clear them out or he'd be stuck here for hours.
Knowing there wasn't any way to get out of this himself, he went back to the couch and took out his cell. Finding the number, he hesitated a minute, then pressed send.
"Vince, we have a problem. Or several." Enjoy this installment? Try Desert Heat, available now at:
Brazen Snake Books|
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble
| Smashwords | Diesel | All Romance
**Please
note - comments take a few moments to appear. Refresh the page to view
new comments. If this is your first time posting, your comment will be
moderated .

Published on September 30, 2011 10:43
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